The next morning Esperanza woke up at dawn. The clouds outside the window were beautiful shades of orange and the sea was calm.

The room was dark, with barely enough light for Esperanza to see her way towards the trunks and open them.

She glanced over at the hammock, Jack's arm hung loosely on the edge of it. Now why couldn't he have done that yesterday?

She picked out one of her dresses, a green one, and held it up in front of her. Very Casual, Very pretty yet nothing over the top, perfect. She thought to herself. She was on a pirate ship, it's not like she really needed to worry about what she looked like.

Well, Jack had told her to look her best.

No worries, he was just going to have to be happy with her decision. She wasn't going to wear her gown on a ship, that was just ridiculous.

Plus that would require her wearing a corset, and she had no one to help her put it on.

Besides, it's not like the dress looked bad. It just wasn't as fancy as her gown.

Wait a minute…why do I care? She asked herself. Why did she care? She wasn't trying to impress anyone…or was she?

Dismissing her thoughts, Esperanza walked over to the bed and, with much difficulty managed to get dressed underneath the blanket. I case Jack woke up, she didn't want him seeing her naked.

Just that mere thought made heat rise to her cheeks.

She went to the small box and took out a long white ribbon. From her previous searches of the room she knew it contained now mirrors, so she just stood and tied all her hair back into a neat low pony tail.

Looking out the window, Esperanza could tell it was already morning.

She looked at the hammock. Should she wake Jack up? Would he be mad at her if she did?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a rapping at the door. She walked over to it and opened it to find a crew member on the other side carrying two plates of food.

"Mornin' miss, I brought breakfast for Jack and ye" He said pushing past her.

"Well thank you, but he's still sleeping" She told him as he set down the two plates on the table.

As soon as Jack smelled the food he woke up and stepped out of the hammock "No I'm not"

"Mornin' capt'n" the man said before he stepped out of the room.

"Good Morning captain Jack" Esperanza said looking at him.

Jack had already sat down and started on his meal.

"Morning, luv" He answered her in between bites. "Sit and eat, we have a long day ahead of us"

She did as he asked her, took a seat in front of him and begun eating.

"What's in the schedule for today captain?" She asked him.

"I guess you'll find out, luv" He answered her.

"I guess I will" she said softly before turning back to her breakfast.

Esperanza was too nervous to say anything else. From the tone of his answer it didn't seem like he wanted to talk much.

Jack couldn't stop thinking about how young she was. Had she really said seventeen? She was too young to be by herself. Especially on a pirate ship and especially in the same room with a man like him.

He had to return her to her home soon.

For the first time in his life, Jack was afraid of saying anything. He was afraid that he would say the wrong thing in front of her.

He was afraid she might change her opinion of him. She was so innocent and right now she seemed to think of him as a thoughtful…maybe even generous… person.

If she only knew.

So they continued to eat their meal in silence.

When they were both finished, Esperanza got Jack's coat and hat and helped him put them on.

"You know luv, you don't have to do that. I'm a big boy now and I am perfectly capable of dressing myself"

"I know Jack" She said fetching his boots for him.

After putting them on, he began walking towards the door. He bent his right arm and looked at her "Shall we luv?"

"We shall" she said hooking her arm in his.

He opened the door and made his way towards the deck with Esperanza securely walking by his side.

Just where she belongs he thought to himself.

Once they were on the deck Esperanza's eyes lit up immediately. She could feel the soft morning wind on her face and smell the rich ocean aroma. Sure the Black sails were a bit frightening but this pirate ship carried the unavoidable feeling of freedom with it. These men were truly free. They had no obligations to serve to any crown or kingdom, they just sailed the world doing as they pleased. They knew what it really meant to live life

Just like mamà.

Where had that thought come from? Was she seriously comparing her mother to pirates? That was ridiculous.

But in a way it made sense.

Sure her mother had never stolen or cheated or kidnapped…and so on. But the same transcendentalist idea remained.

Esperanza and Jack began walking around the main deck. A few crew members would stop what they were doing just to look at her but Esperanza was careful not to make eye contact with any of them.

She looked over at Jack who was looking around the Pearl with stars in his eyes. He was grazing his left hand along the dark wood at the edge of the ship.

"This ship, the Black Pearl, it means a lot to you?" even thought it had come out as a questions, her words were much more of a statement.

He glanced out to sea before he turned to look at her "Aye, luv, she does…she's a stupendous ship to be sure…means evrythin' to me"

Esperanza just nodded and turned her face to the ground.

They made their way up to the quarter deck where Esperanza unhooked her arm from his as Jack placed both hand on the wheel.

Well this is exciting…she said sarcastically to herself. What was she supossed to do now? Jack had told her to stay close. So should she just stand here beside him? She wanted to go closer to the edge to look at the ocean underneath them and the horizon beyond them.

The edge was still close, right?

Esperanza looked behind her and started making her way towards the railing, stopping halfway there to look at Jack.

As soon as he saw her move Jack turned around and met her gaze. He squinted his eyes at her in suspicion.

"Relax Ja-" she stopped remembering what he said "Captain, it's not like I can go anywhere…do you believe me mad enough to jump overboard?" She said offering him a smile.

"Well you do happen to be a woman...that pretty much means you are mad enough to do anything luv" he grinned at her and turned back to what he was doing.

So I guess that means it's ok? Esperanza wondered silently. After all, he had made no attempt to stop her.

She continued walking and placed her hand on the railing. The sun had already risen and the view was beautiful.

She started thinking about everything and nothing in particular, the sea has a tendency to make people do that.

She thought about her parents, about Lucy; was she dead yet? Esperanza sure hoped so; and then she thought about Jack. She thought about how strange he was and equally appealing. He was like a mystery Esperanza couldn't figure out. She loved how he nice he was to her yet he didn't baby her like everyone else did. She was a grown woman now and was so tired of people not seeing that.

Ok, maybe seventeen wasn't exactly grown woman age, but it's not like she was ten. Girls her age were already getting married; she had turned down a couple of offers herself. All the men that came to her father asking for her hand had all been the same, dull boring old geezers or young men looking for a bride with a fortune. Either way they had all looked at her as if she were a piece of meat.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Jack's voice beside her interrupted her thoughts. How long had he been standing there? She looked at him as he gazed out to sea.

"Yes, inescapably beautiful" She answered.

Jack looked at her and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out…what was he going to say to her? He just gave up and returned to the wheel. He had walked over there with the purpose of talking to her, but once there he again was speechless. He felt like such an idiot. He put his head down on the wheel. "Get a hold of yourself Sparrow" a little voice to his left said.

"Oh not you guys again" he said looking at the miniature version of himself, then glancing at the identical one on his right shoulder.

"What's wrong with you mate? You've never had any problems turning on the charm with a woman" mini Jack to the left said.

"Well man, she isn't exactly what you would call a woman" mini Jack to the right said.

"I think maybe you've lost it, your magic" mini Jack to the left said, completely ignoring the previous statement.

"I have not" Jack said defensively

"He has not lost it…it's just her" mini Jack to the right agreed.

Jack turned around to look at her. She was just standing there looking up. He followed her gaze to the crows nest…since there was nothing else she could be staring at. He turned his head back towards her again.

Suddenly the wind picked up speed behind Esperanza, sending the small ribbon flying and blowing her hair in all directions. She looked at Jack, he was staring at her. She looked back at him and laughed as the wind continued to play with hair.

"Told you…it's her" mini Jack to the right said. The other miniature version of himself just rolled his eyes and they both disappeared.

He was right…it was her; she was the problem; her and her beautiful smile and her big eyes and her long dark hair.

He grunted and turned back to what he was doing, he had to get away from her.

By noon Esperanza had grown tired of standing around in the same place all day. She walked over to Jack and tapped his shoulder.

He turned towards her "What is it luv?"

"Well Captain, I've grown quite tired and I wanted to ask if you could escort me back to my…your…eh…the room?"

Flashing her a grin he held out his right arm "Certainly luv"

She hooked her arm and his and they made the captain's cabin.

"Well here we are" Jack said releasing her and crossing the room to get a bottle from one of the cabinets that were mounted on the wall.

Esperanza made her way to the window seat and down indian style with her back against the wall.

Jack was walking towards the door but then he stopped at looked at her. Before he realized what he was doing he walked over to the window and took a seat, facing the inside of the room with his legs stretched out before him, his ankles crossed. He brought the bottle to his lips.

She turned her gaze from the window and looked at him "So Captain Jack Sparrow" she began "how does one become captain of a ship such as this one?"

He looked at her, was she actually curious? He took a swig from his drink and then offered the bottle to her "Long story luv"

Esperanza took the bottle; oblivious to its contents "I have time" she took a swig. The liquid had a stinging sweet yet strange taste, obviously liquor. She hiccupped.

"Don't drink often I take it" Jack said smiling at her attempting to take the bottle from her hands.

She shook her head putting the bottle out of his reach "That might be the case, but I guess its time I get used to it since I doubt there's much else to drink on board" she said and took another drink, swallowing hard. She wrinkled her face at the once again strange taste and handed the bottle back to Jack.

He chuckled and took the bottle from her hand. "Whatever you say luv… just get your own bottle"

"You didn't answer my question" She said licking the roof of her mouth.

Jack realized there was no escaping her young curiosity. "Well Luv, it started…" he proceeded to tell her everything, actually probably more than he meant to, but he couldn't stop himself. It had been too long since he even bothered to remember his own life. He spoke of Barbossa and the Pearl and being stuck on that Island, and how he really got out of there. Every so often she would reach over to him for the bottle and take a drink. He told her about Will and Elizabeth but never mentioned her by name; he only called her "the girl" or "the lass". He wasn't sure why but it seemed that uttering her name might give away too much.

"…then we ended up in Spain. You know the rest" He finished.

She didn't hesitate to ask more questions, she was extremely curious about him and the pirate way of life. Even though she would not look at him when he spoke, he could see that she was listening intently as all she processed all the new information.

So they continued talking and before Jack knew it, it was already late twilight. They had been talking for hours. Jack placed the bottle to his lips again, but nothing came out, it was empty. How much had the girl drank?

"Jack…Captain" She begun, struggling with her words "You most certainly are an interesting man" She stood in front of him "dance with me" she said reaching for his arms.

Good God the girl was actually quite tipsy, but she hadn't drunk much at all. Now it was obvious to Jack that she had never drunk so much before. He stood up in front of her "First, luv, you are never drinking my rum again….second…unless you can pull out a couple of musicians out of that skirt of yours...there's no music"

She answered him with a silly laugh "Well then sign something captain" She placed one hand on his shoulder and put the other in his.

Jack rolled his eyes "This is ridiculous" he said under his breath. If it was any other woman…an actual grown up woman. He would be compliant to her request and he would be his normal charming self, women fell for that all the time. But she was different; she was just a girl with no other intentions but to dance with him.

She looked up at him with a lazy smile and half closed eyes "You are too sad and serious…c'mon sing something!" She said pulling him to the center of the room.

Jack grunted "Fine" The started swaying from side to side as Jack started softly singing the only song he really knew "we pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up me 'earties Yo Ho… We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot…"

Esperanza laid her head on his chest as they continued dancing in the center of the room. The innocence in her touch was something foreign to Jack, maybe that's why he found it so intriguing.

"…Aye but we're loved by our mummies and dads" he sang, then she looked up at him and joined him in singning "Drink up me 'earties Yo Ho!" she threw her arms up in the air, fell back on the bed and started giggling.

Jack looked at her "What's so funny?" he said squinting at her.

She ceased her giggling and opened her eyes wide "My head…" she brought her hands up and buried them in her hair "…it feels so heavy" she answered laughing lightly under her breath with her eyes half-closed.

He chuckled "Yeap, no more rum for you, luv" He said walking over to the table to take off his affects.

Esperanza crawled to the center of the bed and settled back onto the pillows. Pulling the dark blue blanket over her, she yawned loudly and curled into a little ball.

Jack settled back into his hammock and for the first time in a long time just laid there staring at the ceiling, smiling.

So that became their routine. Everyday they would wake up spend half of the day on deck. Then Jack would escort Esperanza back to the room. Some days he would join her for the rest of the afternoon and some days he would return to his captainly duties. But there wasn't one night that lacked a late night conversation.

Everything remained as such for the first six days. Esperanza couldn't believe she had been on this ship for almost a week.

On the early morning of her seventh day Esperanza was awaken by Jack's voice in her ear.

"Wake up luv, we've arrived at Tortuga"

I know, nothing really happens and such…this is more of a transition chappy.

Trust me, I know where I am going, I'm just having a hard time getting there.

And yes, Will and Elizabeth will both appear in later chapters.

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